Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

If you're a newcomer and interested in joining, then please make sure you check out the rules. You may also want to read the FAQ, introduce yourself and stop by the chat to meet some of our members. If you're still not quite sure where to start, then we have a great New Member's Guide with a lot of useful information about getting going. Don't hesitate to PM a member of staff (they have purple usernames) if you have any questions about SOTF and how to get started!

It'll be a hatch. Yeah, that's it, it'll be a badass hatch here in the jungle and the Secret Chopper Crew will go down and there'll be a whole big command center set up and then I'll sneak down once they leave and then...

Aarrgh. What the hell was that old expression? Cart before the horse or something? Her dad would've known. Whatever it was, they hadn't even seen the Secret Chopper Crew yet. For all she knew, the chopper had come to toss Mr. Kwong onto the island with a collar for shits and giggles. But bottom line was that this was like serious fucking business now and she couldn't wander off with her rambling thoughts.

Because they were seriously rambling now. Might be all the Wellbutrin she'd downed earlier in lieu of her regular meds. She didn't like doing that, didn't like that she was just experimenting, but she had to string out the good stuff for as long as possible, and if that meant taking these new pills and shipping her cerebrum out to new adventures unknown, them's the breaks, to use another of those expressions, and Jesus argh the song lyrics were actually preferable to this stuff, just do that and--

Everybody's got a hunger, a hunger they can't resistThere's so much that you want, you deserve much more than thisBut if dreams came true, oh wouldn't that be niceBut this ain't no dream, we're living through tonightYou want it, you take it, you pay the price

--damnit Bruce that's not particularly subtle and kinda pessimistic but it could help her calm down a bit.

And focus. OK. Where was she?

Ah yes, the Chopper Crew tossing Kwong on the island.

Of course, she'd prefer that to some other possible scenarios. Andrea was the fangirl, remember, and any fangirl worth her salt knew what happened way back in v1 when a helicopter full of terrorists touched down. She hadn't told Allen about that. Wouldn't be wise. But she had to dive into the deep end of the pool at some point. And flinging some terrorists into the game to slaughter kids wholesale didn't make sense given the death rate had shown no sign of dropping. Besides, if they did discover something like that, well, she and Allen were keeping their distance for a reason. Andrea had it all planned out.

After the initial paranoia wore off, it hadn't taken Andrea long to decide she needed to investigate the chopper firsthand. Greedy fantasies being led straight to the generator had invaded her thoughts, and she rationalized that even assuming that was overly optimistic, they could still glean a shitload of potential information from finding out in the flesh what was up. Convincing Allen hadn't been difficult. He seemed to be on board once she'd assured him they'd hang back and never charge blindly in. And he'd also come up with their mission's cover story for the cameras.

They'd been keeping south of the oversized road where, to Andrea's best guess, the helicopter had landed a couple hours ago. So far, their journey hadn't borne any fruit. The copter itself had touched down beyond their sightline, and roared back up and vanished into the wild blue yonder from whence it came not long after. So, since it had to have SOME purpose for being here, and since they hadn't caught sight of any new weapons or rations or mystery boxes, that could only, her superlogic declared, mean they'd dropped one or more unknown persons onto the island. How clever she was.

Andrea and Allen had tracked westward to get to the road, so they were continuing that way for now. She figured whoever came from the chopper was also heading that direction, if for no other reason than because she would've seen them otherwise. Bah, her kingdom for a pair of binoculars; they'd be pretty damn useful right now. Ah well.

She scribbled a couple lines in her notebook, then passed it along to Allen.

-They're probably heading to the woods over there, it's been a DZ 2 days now-Liz Polanski's prob. there too, makes sense that she'd hide where ppl can't find her

Of course, they couldn't just barge into a dangerzone in search of death and glory. But they could follow. And then wait. And then... well, who knows what they might find out?

"Yeah, the chopper's definitely gone, so, uh... that sucks," she said. "Guess it wasn't the Marines after all."

Verbalizing any of those thoughts would be primo dumb though. Hence her totally casual banter about expecting the cavalry to arrive. Danya would fall for it, guaranteed, because Danya was stupid and assumed the same of everybody else.

"I dunno. Maybe they dropped some teachers on the island; I think I remember reading they did that in one of the early runs, like the non-televised ones. But we should probably stay away from the road down there, just in case. You uh, want to stop for lunch or something?"

Andrea had gone through the bag they'd picked up from Max Neill a while back, and while there'd been nothing in the matter of weaponry or other interesting stuff, they had grabbed his assigned food and water along with some protein bars and candy. She'd harbored some hope of an secret drug stash or something equally illicit, but apparently their late Student Council President had been as wholesome as he'd seemed. He was no Andrea Vanlandingham, that much was certain.

"Hopefully we can keep finding supplies. That's, uh, especially recently that's one of the things they do to make sure you don't hide out the whole time, cause you'll run out after a few days. And back in like, the first season there were nowhere near as many kids, so the game didn't last as long."

Allen glanced over the notes Andrea gave him, memorizing the information, then closed the book and handed it back to his companion. 'Man, Liz is in for a whole load of shit if she gets herself caught by them,' Allen thought, reminded of Lucy's untimely and gruesome death thanks to the girl's destructive actions. It had to have pissed Danya and his goons off to no end, and he really wouldn't want to be in her shoes right about now.

It was a big risk they were taking themselves, making their way in the direction the helicopter was heading, but as long as they kept their distance from whatever was happening, nothing bad would come out of it, right? And with the flat terrain of the felled forest, they could see for miles in pretty much every direction. So there was virtually no chance of a sneak attack on them.

"Sure, let's stop for a bit," Allen replied, plonking himself down on the nearest tree stump and sighed noisily. He reached inside his bag and pulled out a half-eaten candy bar that he'd plundered from the late Student Council President's bag. He chewed on the remainder of the snack, wondering just how much weight he'd have lost through not eating alone. He was sorely tempted to snack on another bar just to satisfy his hunger, but he fought it, knowing he had to conserve their supplies.

Just in case the people watching them grew suspicious, Allen had suggested to Andrea they use the excuse that they were walking past the logging road and instead heading towards the western side of the island. Well, there was an element of truth in that, since he hadn't been that way before and once they'd done what they were going to do, they probably would go on their merry way and explore on that side of the island afterward. Like Andrea said, hopefully they'd find a couple of discarded duffel bags in the process. Goodness knows the supplies picked up from Max's bag weren't going to keep the pair of them going forever.

The memory of visiting the boarding school and viewing the plaque entered his thoughts again at the mention of the earlier version of the deadly game. 'Sidney Crosby... you poor guy...'

"Hey, uh, Andrea," Allen started, tossing the empty wrapper to the floor, "since you're clued up about the whole Survival of the Fittest stuff, would you know who Sidney Crosby was?"

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

As Allen and Andrea talked in the morning light, another pair of students wandered in from over the horizon. The game had not been kind to Roland and Dutchy during the last six days, and the morning had seen them at the lowest point in their entire lives. They walked a good five feet apart from each other, at least, and their eyes rarely met. In fact, Dutchy seemed to cringe whenever he caught a glimpse of Roland, quickly looking away and shaking. Roland responded by simply hanging his head, where it usually stayed as he walked. He said nothing, only occasionally sniffling and glancing at the sharp tip of his harpoon.

Dutchy seemed afraid of him now. Practically petrified, as though Roland was putting a gun to his back and forcing him to go with him. And why not? Roland had gone completely crazy, saving Dutchy from a fucking suicide attempt and dragging him to the infirmary for the sinister purpose based on a psychotic delusion that Dutchy's head injuries were more serious than they actually were. How dare Roland show concern for him.

Oh yeah. That's not all he did.

Since the incident at the house, Roland had made great haste to the south, carrying both his and Dutchy's daypacks on his shoulders and escorting Dutchy, whose head injuries made it hard for him to keep up with Roland. They finally got there, only to discover that anything that had remained in the infirmary had long since been pillaged. Whatever the terrorists hadn't gotten when preparing the island, the students had come across. Really, what did Roland expect? They had five days. That's 120 hours.

So Roland was stuck desperately trying to look at Dutchy and determine the extent of his injuries. All he really knew about diagnosing brain injuries was looking into the eyes, and Dutchy's eyes looked perfectly normal, if a little tired from their experience. The question in Roland's mind was far from settled, but all in all, this was just one more thing he couldn't do shit about, and just had to deal with. He finally fell asleep on an examining table, somehow avoiding tossing himself onto the floor during his restless dreams.

Then the announcements happened. And Roland's worst fears came true.

He didn't know how long he'd managed to stay calm. It couldn't have been for any substantial amount of time. The first thing Dutchy saw of Roland awake was him swinging a chair around at everything else he could find. Glass was smashed, wood was splintered, and metal was warped as Roland's throat wore itself out screaming and tears flowed from his eyes. When the chair finally broke into fragments too small for him to do any damage with, he used his fists and feet, knocking as many holes as he could through the hollow walls of the building. But as much as he wanted it at the moment, he couldn't bring down the building with his bare hands, and he wore himself out before even finished scarring one wall.

He sobbed to himself for another minute, then noticed Dutchy cowering in the corner, lucky not to have been hurt by Roland's rampage. Not knowing what else to say, Roland suggested getting a move-on, and Dutchy immediately complied, scared of what might happen if he hesitated.

Now Roland stared at his harpoon, picturing himself shoving it into his gut, or perhaps holding the sharp edges to his wrists and cutting away. He had such great reason to do it, to. His sister, sweet Lillian, the one girl who deserved this hellhole least of all, was dead, and the only other friend who wasn't god knows where on this rock thought Roland was going to kill him. Was there even any point in meeting Sarah and Bridget again?

"Dutchy..." he finally said after an hour of silence. "Dutchy, please say something."

WickedIcon: i just launched a baby wearing a denim jacket and a bowler hat across a hospital, through a window, killing several patients, destroying thousands of dollars of equipment, and finally coming to rest on the body of a presumably dead clownWickedIcon: this is the best dollar i've spent in several years

chitoryu12I have yet to find gay sex that involves the men punching each other. I must not be on the internet enough

He didn't know why he'd done it anymore. It had been stupid. It hadn't solved anything. It had been STUPID. The cut was still there, visible underneath his light blond hair. He couldn't have hidden it, no matter what he'd told himself in those first few minutes. Roland had hauled him halfway across the island like that.

Roland knew he wasn't okay. And that was what hurt most of all. Dutchy would have never done that in Minnesota. He was terrified of blood. Terrified of injury, pain and suffering. Danya had already beaten him.

Dutchy wanted to stall. He wanted to tell Roland to lie when they found the others- IF they found the others. But he wouldn't. Roland cared about him.

And that was the only reason he was still...

He shouldn't care about me.

Dutchy couldn't forget the infirmary. The announcement had woken him up, just like all the one's past. He heard the name. He'd lain in silence, his head pounding with grief. He didn't know if he wanted to cry anymore, if he could even manage to cry. It seemed pointless. No one would care if he wept or not. Crying was in itself becoming a hollow act, a ritual devoid of meaning. He hated himself for even thinking like that. He'd only moved when Roland began to tear the room apart.

The first few minutes of the attack had been terrifying. Roland was violent, a monster from Dutchy's darkest nightmares, a warped imitation of his friend, fueled by his hatred, destroying anything he could get his hands on. Chairs broke, glass smashed. Roland's shouts pierced through Dutchy, hurting him more so then he'd ever hurt in his life. It wasn't bloodlust, it was pain. He screamed until Dutchy was sure his friends throat was bleeding. Roland had been broken, and there was no way for Dutchy to stitch him back up, not with all the love or medicine in the world. Roland had died, just as he had died. Dutchy had nearly puked in fear. He couldn't be exactly sure when his friend had calmed down enough to notice his presence. Dutchy saw the regret in his eyes and instantly felt more shame. Roland still had responsibility. He still had to keep it together, he still had to smile and pretend it was all okay, a feat Dutchy could never again hope to replicate.

If I wasn't here, he could have found her in time.

Dutchy was sick all over his shirt.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He was as cold as ice the next day, shaking as he shouldered his pack and followed Roland out of the infirmary. He'd changed his t-shirt, but it counted for little. The idea had stuck in his mind, taking root until it was the only thing he could think about. That, and his friends rage. He wasn't scared of retaliation. He was scared of the reality of it. There were kids in the dark, committing far greater atrocities then Roland would ever be able to manage. He wasn't just going to die, he was going to die horribly.

Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's what I deserve. I gave up. Roland could've found her if I wasn't on that beach, if I'd woken up somewhere else. They could've found someone useful there- someone who'd escape. Instead there was me. What am I good for. I've just ruined everything.

The walk had been mostly quiet. Neither of the two had been in the mood for talking. Dutchy didn't know what to say, if anything, about Roland's sister. He wasn't sure if there was a God. He'd like to believe it, he'd been told there was one. But there was so much suffering he doubted it could be true. It didn't matter if he believed or not. Danya's island didn't have a God.

"Dutchy, please say something."

He looked up at his friend, struggling hard to keep from shaking. He had no idea what was going through Roland's head. What did he feel? Sorrow? Anger? Pity? Guilt?

He doesn't deserve this.

Dutchy opened his mouth, struggling to form words. It had been so long since he'd talked out loud it felt as he were forgetting bit by bit. He hesitated, unsure of what exactly he should say.

"Roland I, I think. If- If we can't- if they don't come for us - I don't want you worrying about me I- I think you should-"

Töluđ orđ verđa ekki aftur tekin

What was he doing? What was he saying? Tears seemed to permanently stain his face, no matter how often he'd wipe them off. They flowed freely again as he choked on his words, barely believing himself and what he was suggesting. This wasn't him. He wanted out. He didn't want to linger and remind Bayview of what they'd lost.

Fucking danger zones. Fucking death island. Fucking Danya. Fucking Tim. Fucking Vic, running off, leaving her alone. Fucking everything. Alice was one stubbed toe from falling to her knees and cursing the heavens. She was bitter and angry, hurt, betrayed, and feeling more then a little hopeless. If it wasn't for Bounce urging her onward, God, she didn't know what she'd do.

If wasn't that Vic was gone, not really. It was how she had left. If she was killed, show down at Alice's side, that would be one thing. No doubt Alice would be wracked with guilt and horrible sorrow, but she could accept that. Maybe even learn to cope with it. Something. But this, Vic making a conscious choice to leave her behind? That was worse by far. That at some point in her thought process, Vic decided that Alice was dead weight and she'd be better of on her own. Alice would put on a brave face for Bounce, but it was killing her.

Trying to figure out the why, the reason, whatever it was that compelled Vic to strike of on her own. Was it something Alice had done? Some example of an incapability to protect Vic? Or did Vic just get tired of her? Maybe this was just a long time coming, and Vic was just seizing the opportunity presented to her.

There were enough scenarios or imagined reasons that Alice would have gone mad trying to cover them all. They all boiled down to the fact that it was just her and Bounce. All alone on a big island, effectively unarmed and defenseless. If Alice could put aside her personal problems for a second, she could try and think of a way around that. Bounce has a gas can, but that would hardly ward of an assailant. She had six bullets and no gun to fire them. Once again, she wished she were Macgyver.

If they were being optimistic when taking stock of any assets, they could mention that she was a fit and athletic young woman. Which might have been a boon, if she didn't have a concussion and a gunshot wound. As it was, her abilities were diminished somewhat. At the very least, Bounce still had her smarts. Now they just needed someone with a rapier and they could have the trifecta of brains strength and steel. As it was, well, let's hope Bounce had some diplomatic skills to fall back on.

Back in the town square, Bounce had mentioned the sawmill. Being the muscle in the outfit, Bounce's wish was her command. Being the sick bastard in charge of the island, Danya decided that it wouldn't be that easy and made the quickest route go through a danger zone. Which was how they found themselves in the felled forest to the south of the sawmill. It was her idea that they loop around, clearing the danger zone and heading up to the sawmill.

So, that was what they did. There was a period of preparation and they set off. They hadn't been moving long before the announcements started up. For a heart-stopping second, she thought she had heard Vic's name. During that second, she froze, her ears straining, as if she'd be able to hear some secret message hidden under Danya's voice. After another second, Alice decided that it was just a mistake. The result of a tire iron to the head, if you will. Just to save Bounce the possible trouble of thinking the same thing, she glanced over her shoulder. "Wasn't Vic." She said simply, confidently. Putting that moment of terror of mind, they kept going. She half-listened to the names rattled off, back after her scare, she didn't listen too closely.

And she kept right on going until she spied two figures ahead. Once was sitting, the other standing. Judging by the bit where neither had moved, she would have guessed that they hadn't seen them. Alice looked at Bounce, before nodding at the pair. "They haven't seen us. What do you want to do?"

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?

This was.... terrible. No, more like the usual. She had to get used to this situation. Ash had nearly run out of supplies again, and people were milling about. All she needed was a distraction before she could swoop in and grab their stuff.

Was that what she wanted to do, though? Ash could just try and bargain with them.

The thought put a slight smile on her face, although the amusement faded quickly. That was a silly idea. There was no way that she could make a peaceful trade in these times. It was unfortunate, but depending on people to not kill her during the 'game' wasn't a smart idea.

She wasn't going to question her decisions, not if the issue was one of morality. At least, that's what she resolved to do. It was a fact that she had already stolen from a corpse, and she wasn't about to quit any time soon. As soon as she finished justifying her crimes to herself, a calm expression spread over her face.

The endlessly looping thought of survival at the expense of dignity repeated itself once more, moving her focus back towards thievery. Ash wouldn't figure her plight out, not even if she took the time to try and think about it.

Like a broken machine, she could only repeat the same functions over and over until she was jarred out of it. Even back when she was hiding from Reiko, the loop was there in a more prolonged fashion. Hide, scavenge, consume, sleep, repeat. Those were the five steps that she would take no matter what she thought about or how she decided to change her behaviour.

Now, step one would be take place. Crawling on her belly to try and avoid detection, Ash watched over the group with cold eyes and waited for her chance to take what she needed.

Travelling with Alice was a lot less wearing on Bounce's mind than travelling with Victoria.

That shouldn't really have made sense. Alice was injured, Vic had been in full health. Then again, Alice had actually stood up to the confrontation back in the town square, when they'd met that guy at the beach... Vic had made her take the lead. ... Bounce still resented that, a little. She wasn't the tall confident, good looking one... Bounce was the one that looked like she spent all of her time in front of a computer scr- oh wait.

Maybe it was because Alice was her friend, and Vic was just Alice's girlfriend.

Her paranoia had paid off, apparently, Victoria had gone running at the first sign of trouble.

Bounce felt a little vindicated by that. Slightly bad for Alice, of course, but mostly satisified that her gut instinct had been correct.

So... that just made the little Russian wonder if she was making a big mistake by going against said instincts and trusting that Aaron actually had half a clue and a decent idea. Hm. Well, it was either that or stumble around blindly until one or both of them were killed, and neither Bounce nor Alice was armed. One of the rare occasions where there would be strength in numbers. A lot of people to put her trust in... but Aaron seemed to have had them together, at least to an extent. It was secondary reliance, once again... but this wasn't a strategy that was going to work.

Wandering around never ended well.

Bounce was studying her friend's tired, determined face when the announcements kicked on, had opened her mouth to pose a question when...

Shit.

Casual, off hand. But... it was Vic. She'd been killed in between now and running off from them earlier. Shit. Alice's girlfriend... Just because Bounce didn't want to travel with her didn't mean she wanted her dead.

Alice brushed it off. Crap, that just made it worse. It was an outright denial of the truth. ...She knew, she must've heard. To turn around and say so brazenly the complete opposite of what was on the announcement.... Goddammit Vic. Why the hell had she had to run off and get herself killed!? That just ruined all of this. Finally with somebody she could actually trust, and what was going to happen? Bounce was going to have to ground her in reality and tell her that her girlfriend HAD in fact just died.

Wow... Yelizaveta. That's sensitive, right? Somebody's dead and all you can think about is the effect on your game? Not the emotional impact on the fact that it's the damn closest person to your best friend that died? Cold... just cold.

Sensible, maybe.

Bounce was still trying to figure out how to 'break' the 'news' when Alice turned to ask her for advice. Startled, it took Bounce a moment to process the question.

"Ah... best to keep our distance for now, I think. Allow them to make the first move. We don't want to provoke anyone."

"Sidney Crosby? As in the Sidney Crosby from V1?" Andrea asked, just to make sure Allen hadn't gotten confused with another person of a similar name. There was a Sydney in the same version as Crosby, but he wasn't well known at all, in fact he was only the second person to die and was easily forgotten, wasn't he? 'And just what's that got to do with Allen's question? You need to quit going off on that tangent.'

A nod from Allen confirmed that her assumption was indeed correct, so she continued. "Um, oh yeah, Sidney Crosby. He was supposedly one of the top hockey players of his age, at least until he was captured, that is. Most people know him now as one of the final four in his version of SOTF."

"Whoa, whoa, he actually made it that far?" Allen asked in disbelief. "H-how many people did he kill to get there?"

"Oh, to be fair, there were only around, what, 120 students in V1. He didn't really do a whole lot either, although he did manage to get Amanda Jones killed, which pissed Adam Dodd off to no end, not to mention Cody Jenson who was trying to kill him." Allen stared blankly at Andrea as she explained, having absolutely no idea who any of the other people that she was rattling off actually were. "If I remember correctly he got two kills in, though one was an accident."

"So what happened... y'know... in the final?" Allen asked.

"Well, Cody and Dodd also made it to the 'endgame', as they like to call it, and Cody went to shoot Dodd. However, Sidney leaped in front of him and took the bullet, allowing Dodd to finish off Cody. For someone who was widely considered a coward throughout all of V1, it was a pretty brave thing to do and okay Allen I think you'd better turn around we have company right behind us."

Allen swiveled around quickly on the tree stump, so fast that he lost his balance and fell off sideways. "Whoa!" he cried out, trying to push himself back up onto his makeshift seat but failed to do so. "Ugh, stupid tree," he cursed, righting himself on the ground and looking ahead where Andrea was staring. Two girls, both with black hair, were standing in the distance, and looked to be staring back at them. "Um, what do we do?" he asked, getting back to his feet.

"Depends on who they are and how friendly," Andrea said, squinting her eyes to get a better view at the pair. 'Well this has made things a lot more complicated. Can we even trust them? Can we trust anyone, for that matter? Can I trust Allen-okay, that was a stupid question.'

Andrea took the notepad and scribbled something hastily onto the top piece of paper. "Okay, we'll let them come over if they want to, but be prepared for anything." She then showed Allen the message she'd written:

do NOT tell them anything!!!

And then Andrea quickly scrunched the piece of paper up again. Allen simply nodded in agreement.

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

Where modesty's ill manners, 'tis but fit that impudence and malice pass for wit.

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((Insert apology for tardiness here))

Roland turned back to look at Dutchy. He'd just offered to give his life to let Roland live, if it came to that. The same intent made him crack his head on the mirror, made Roland panic and go to the infirmary, set off a chain reaction that put them there. "I... I..." What could he possibly say about that?

"I'll make sure it doesn't come to that," he said, knowing he couldn't do that at all. Then again, maybe he'd be right after all. There was no way that both of them would survive to the final four.

No! He couldn't think like that. But how could he put on a happy face now? He'd told Sarah to meet him in the infirmary, which he'd left a battered wreck in one room, and now he had no idea where they were. It was pure dumb luck that he'd managed to find her or Dutchy or Bridget at all, and he wouldn't get lucky twice. They might as well be across the sea for all it mattered.

And without Sarah, Roland was truly fucked. She'd always been the brains of the activist club; for all the research Roland liked to do about politics, he'd never had what it took to propose new ideas, to do anything except simply sharing information with other people. Sarah was the one who came up with the plan, the plan that he could barely remember after the trauma of the past day, and he didn't know if he could pull it off by himself. Should he try to follow it? Should he try to find Liz Polanski or some other potential escapists? Should he take his chances with that helicopter he saw in the sky a few hours ago?

His question was answered for him when he caught a glimpse of Bounce Volkova.

Bounce was a student he hadn't exactly been on good terms with throughout his stay at school. On a few occasions, whenever the subject of SOTF had been brought up, he'd gotten into a heated argument with her about it. She was one of the fans, the ones who thought it was staged entertainment that couldn't possibly be real. Even before Roland knew those kids were truly dying, he'd hated the show because of how phenomenally ugly it was. If the rape and murder of Madeleine Shirohara was supposed to disgust the audience to their fucking core, mission accomplished, but so what? It wasn't compelling television, it was pointless, repetitive slasher bullshit.

So he and Bounce had a strained relationship. When the topic didn't come up, they got along okay. He hoped that would be the case now, now that their perspectives on the game were significantly closer. "Bounce!" he called out to her, before remembering to drop his harpoon. "It's me, Roland! I'm unarmed!"

Whatever you do, he told himself, do not say "I told you so!"

WickedIcon: i just launched a baby wearing a denim jacket and a bowler hat across a hospital, through a window, killing several patients, destroying thousands of dollars of equipment, and finally coming to rest on the body of a presumably dead clownWickedIcon: this is the best dollar i've spent in several years

chitoryu12I have yet to find gay sex that involves the men punching each other. I must not be on the internet enough

Dutchy could only nod weakly at Roland's answer. The sheer nature of his request seemed to have struck the bigger boy, and although he vowed he wouldn't let it come to that, Dutchy wasn't naive anymore. Death was inevitable. Maybe Roland would make it, but he didn't stand a chance.

He didn't want a chance.

I'm going to die. I'm already dead.

"Okay." He managed to whisper, so soft it was barely intelligible amidst the various other sounds of the forest. Dutchy stared down at his shoes thinking of home, thinking of his parents and his room and his comics and the chants of his favorite soccer team coming from the speakers, thinking about collage and trips to a far off island...

I don't want to wait until the end. I want it back now. It's not greedy. I'm not asking for much. I just want to... to... go... with that in my mind. While my mind is still clear, while I can still remember what I was like.I need to go now before something else happens. Before Roland does something, hurts himself for me. I couldn't- no, no, not that. He can't get hurt. He's been so kind. I've been so terrible, I've been a horrible person and he's been so nice, and it's already cost him so much...

Roland doesn't get it. I... I have to go now, want to, don't I? And I need him to help me...

"Roland I... I want it to be like th-"

And suddenly, Roland began to yell, dropping his harpoon to the ground. Dutchy nearly jumped out of his skin, before realizing he was shouting towards a girl, standing in the foliage nearby, two in actuality. Dutchy did a quick nervous shamble, his arms bunched up against his chest as if he were desperately holding his guts in. As pathetic as it was, he kept behind Roland, his heart pounding. He didn't know who they were all that well. Bounce, he'd heard of her, but hadn't had an opportunity to meet her. The girl she was with was a complete unknown.

Are they... Are they going to hurt us?

Dutchy hated the thought, but he knew it was a possibility. He'd met precious few students outside of his core group, some boys back at the house, although his memories of the encounter were foggy.

Stupid Dutchy. You're so stupid!

He had no idea who had been doing the killing for the most part, aside from a few of the major players. The dead had taken up much of his time. Now, the fear was building once again. Dutchy struggled to suppress shakes as the two girls took notice of them. It would be up to Roland to handle them, he was in no state to talk to anyone. More guilt leaked into his mind and Dutchy found himself unable to look at the girls, staring embarrassed towards the ground, face red, on the verge of tears.

I am a great biotic wind that will sweep all before me like a... a great wind! A great biotic wind!

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((Okay, really short and really temporary place-holder post so Alice doesn't get put on the inactive chopping block. I will expand and improve upon this at a later time. But not now.))

Alice watches Andrea and Allen carefully but doesn't move, on account of Bounce's advice. She murmurs her consent to Bounce to follow what she says, saying something along the lines of, "We'll wait and see what they do, then." She looks grim and suspicious, like a female Punisher.

Before anyone else can do anything that involves walking anywhere, Roland calls out and grabs their attention. Alice goes all Mama Bear and quickly steps in front of Bounce. She's tense and distrusting, eying the opposite pair carefully. On one hand, they know Bounce. On the other hand, one of them had a harpoon. Admittedly, a dropped harpoon, but it was still a threat.

Alice doesn't look away from the Dutchy and Roland, but she tilts her head enough so that Bounce could hear her and other group couldn't. "What do you want to do? Remember the other group as well. We could potentially be trapped here if this is some sort of trick." Not that she thought it was a trick, she just wanted to be prudent. She wished she still had her gun.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?

Ash looked with a vague feeling of curiosity at the two groups, temporarily snapping out of her trance to evaluate the situation. One boy was calling out to a girl nicknamed Bounce, dropping his harpoon for some reason. Was he trying to be non-threatening? Maybe the two knew each other back in school. She recognized the second boy, however. Dutchy was his name, if she recalled correctly. He was quivering in fear, as far as she could tell.

He is a burden to his friend. Nothing but useless weight.

She couldn't ignore him, though. One pair of eyes was all that was needed to spot her. A carbide lamp wouldn't be able to match against a harpoon, no matter how much strength she had. With Bounce's companion stepping in front of her as a shield, the opportunity Ash had to sneak down vanished. Without a word, she sunk even lower into the foliage. Those two were- Wait, something was off here. Didn't she see another two walk around earlier?

Am I sure that there are only four people standing there?

She briefly glanced around. As far as she could see, there weren't any extras. But a feeling of unease crept its way into her stomach. If she was caught, she would die. What could she do to make her job possible? What could she do to distract them? She was more than ten feet away from them. If there was another group, then she couldn't get away without being chased. She couldn't afford to waste energy like that.

Then I will just have to play them.

Joining them was out of the option. She couldn't trust them to not turn on each other, as she found out with Samya's betrayal. However, she learned that groups tended to fracture along emotional lines. Her target was clear. The unfortunate one would be Dutchy, whose weakness was evident and easily exploitable.

The only question was how she would do this. How would she split the harpoon boy and Dutchy? She didn't have an established method or a clearly thought out answer. So, Ash chose the only option she could see: Improvise. If she failed, she would just retreat to a safe distance and harass them again later.

Okay, easy, easy... They'd been spotted, that was fair enough, that factored into Bounce's plan. No guns in sight meant that for once she'd actually made a good call.

A call of her name put a wrench in that. Bounce spun around to regard the new pair approaching them. The stocky black one knew her name, wait, did she... did she actually know who this guy was? Hayes. Hayes something? Something Hayes? They'd... spoken. Ha, spoken was one way of putting it. Argued might perhaps have been a better term. He always seemed to be under the impression she thought it was fake, which was... untrue, but Bounce had never bothered to correct him.

It had haunted her back home and now, more than ever, it haunted her that... even with that knowledge, she'd still watched it. Bounce wasn't naive, but she was morbid.

She opened her mouth, and then closed it abruptly as her eyes caught something whizzing through the air.

Both Andrea and Allen turned to face Roland and his companion the moment he called out to Bounce. "Where the hell is everyone coming from?" Allen whispered to himself, alarmed that they hadn't even noticed the two boys until they'd got within shouting distance of them.

Andrea, meanwhile, was not only concerned by how Roland and Dutchy had arrived without either of them noticing, but also the name he was shouting. 'Is that Roland Hayes? And he's calling out to... oh, it's Bounce,' she thought. "Just... just perfect," Andrea muttered sarcastically. Two girls into SOTF and a boy completely against it. And they were all about to meet up in the middle of the program they loved/abhorred. 'There's gonna be fireworks, that's for sure,' Andrea thought. She would have laughed at the irony of it, but she didn't know how Allen would react to a brief fit of the giggles. Probably would think she was crazy. Probably be right as well. And she couldn't afford to lose Allen, she needed him, dammit.

Andrea and Allen looked back and forth between the two sets of newcomers. A harpoon fell to the ground by Roland's feet, leaving him unarmed and looking a lot less like a threat. Neither Bounce or the other girl had moved much, only turning to face Roland. No weapons on hand either. Guess things weren't as bad as Andrea had initially thought.

In a moment, things became worse than Andrea had initially thought.

Something came sailing through the air out of, well, nowhere. "What the-?!" Allen cried out upon seeing the projectile, while Andrea simply froze when she saw it. 'Holy fuck. Holy fuck is that a grenade?' she frantically thought. 'Oh, oh wait, Allen's got the grenades, it's just a rock. A rock that's about to hit that blond guy-'

She blinked.

'Crap.'

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

Where modesty's ill manners, 'tis but fit that impudence and malice pass for wit.

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(Light GMing, which I assume is alright.)

He didn't get much of a reaction besides people turning to look at him. Bounce and her friend turned, as well as another couple he just caught out of the corner of his eye. In the short amount of time before he heard Dutchy cry out in pain, he noticed that Bounce's friend looked a bit apprehensive, but Bounce seemed like she wanted to talk back. Meanwhile, that other girl - another fan of the show, if he remembered correctly - just stood there with her friend.

Before Roland could wave to them and ask them to join the party - plenty of room on the failboat for everyone, after all - he noticed that Dutchy wasn't standing anymore. He'd fallen over, clutching at his knee in pain. Roland couldn't see any serious injury; nothing like a gunshot or a stab or a bruise. "Dutchy, what's wrong? What happened?"

The boy looked down at a rock, a signal Roland didn't understand at first. But then he got an idea, noticed that the thing wasn't covered with dirt like every other rock around. It sat on top, like it'd been dug up and put back down again.

Goddammit.

Roland grimaced and picked up the makeshift missile in one hand and looked around. He didn't think any of the four people he'd seen had thrown a rock or anything, but maybe they'd just been too quick for him. "Who threw this?" he asked. "Who the fuck threw this?" A tone of annoyance had crept into his voice now; this was exactly the sort of shit that he didn't need right now.

WickedIcon: i just launched a baby wearing a denim jacket and a bowler hat across a hospital, through a window, killing several patients, destroying thousands of dollars of equipment, and finally coming to rest on the body of a presumably dead clownWickedIcon: this is the best dollar i've spent in several years

chitoryu12I have yet to find gay sex that involves the men punching each other. I must not be on the internet enough

Dutchy stood behind Roland, rubbing his hands together, trying to keep calm. The casual way Roland had dropped his guard was encouraging, but Dutchy wasn't stupid. He knew the dangers of the Island were all too real, even if he hadn't witnessed all that much personally. The girls in front of him hadn't had the luck of holding up in a building for the better part of the competition. They'd seen bodies, they'd seen blood and atrocities far worse then anything he could comprehend. Dutchy kept his head hung low, avoiding their gaze, trying not to panic.

What if they aren't so friendly? What if they've got weapons?

As terrible as the notion was, Dutchy couldn't dismiss it. Half of his classmates were dead, and that wasn't all due to freak accidents. It was a bitter truth to face, terrifying, contradicting everything he'd ever known about Bayview. But some of his clasmates were no longer friends. They were predators. Monsters.

"Roland..." Dutchy began, his voice fading away.

Stupid Dutchy. Roland knows what he's doing. Don't get in his way, any more then you already are-

And then, something struck him.

At first, Dutchy was sure it was a person. Someone who he hadn't seen, jumping from a bush to knock him to the ground. He let out a scared yelp of pain, stumbling a moment before collapsing in a heap. His leg was suddenly throbbing, the tell tale sign of an injury. He looked down, a large rock say in the grass near him.

Someone hit me.

Dutchy’s eyes went wide with fear. With shaky hands he reached towards his knee, clutching it, as if it could stop the pain. He tried to control his breathing. No good.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic, you can’t panic.

It was too late. His knee was skinned, but that was enough. Dutchy hadn’t suffered an injury in years, at least, not from another person. It seemed like an eternity since he’d had a problem with anyone. The sheer casual nature of the attack confirmed all his worst fears in a heartbeat. This was not the place for him. He was going to die, very soon, and more then likely not on his own terms.

His mind flashed back, his life before the Island. So far away, a hospital bed, his Uncle, bandaged and burned, a shell of his former self, vomit, burning in his throat.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic, don’t panic…

But he couldn’t stop. Roland was talking, looking at him with concern. Dutchy brought his head up, wide terrified eyes scanning the forest. The girls in front of them. Roland. There was more. Was it a trap? Were they dead? He couldn’t breath. It was all too much. He’d never hurt anyone, and yet this was his reward.

I’m sorry!

He didn’t know who he was shouting too. His attacker? God? Danya? Did it really matter in the end? There would be no forgiveness. Dutchy had done something terrible, what it was he couldn’t say. Was it his wish? What was wrong with dying on his own terms?

His breathing grew faster, louder. He couldn’t control himself. His mind was in a blind panic. He’d been struck with a rock. Why? Just for existing. He was going to die, very soon. He hadn’t said goodbye. He hadn’t prepared.

“It’s not fair!” He sobbed again, his words degenerating into loud panicky gasps, as if he were struggling to take in air. He began to crawl through the grass, separating himself from Roland, the rock, everything, his cries of fear growing louder, stretching out longer, encompassing everything around him. He wasn’t thinking. Dutchy had entered a full blown panic mode and try as he may; tears were already streaming down his face. He wobbled to his feet, scrunching up against a tree trunk, terrified of the world.

If I wasn’t here, we wouldn’t be going through this! If I wasn’t here- I- I shouldn’t be here! I should be dead already, I should have died first, I would’ve still been me, I wouldn’t- I’m sorry, I’m sorry Roland!

Roland had the rock now; he was holding it up, looking at the group standing before them. Dutchy didn’t know who had hit him. He wasn’t quite sure it mattered all that much. Roland was getting annoyed, taking personal offence. Things were rushing out of control, and it was all his fault. Dutchy had heard of Survival of the Fittest. He knew what would come next. It was too horrifying to contemplate.

I am a great biotic wind that will sweep all before me like a... a great wind! A great biotic wind!

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Now this was how you did a negotiation. Silence, lots of staring and making really serious faces at each other. It was probably how they did it at the UN too. They would probably talk to each other at some point or something maybe, but right now the most important part was the grim staring. But no problem there, Alice had that down pat. She was practically the master of looking grim and/or moody. She guessed that it didn't really expedite the sharing of information or pleasantries, but whatever. It all boiled down to whichever side didn't have all day to stand around. Alice didn't know about those other two, but she wasn't exactly eager to meet up with Aaron and his group.

She would just wait for Bounce to do the talking. If it was mediation, it was on Bounce. If it was dissuading conflict, it was Alice. They had a system. Of course, judging by the rock, someone didn't want to wait for the talking to start. Her first instinct was to protect Bounce. That was, after all, her number 1 priority. Considering Vic was gone, Bounce was all she had left. That meant that Bounce was all that mattered. Alice shifted, so that she more facing the direction the rock had come from than Roland and Dutchy. It was possible that this was all a trick to divert attention and let Roland get close with that harpoon of his, but it wasn't very likely

Considering that, her eyes scanned the direction the rock had come from. Chances were good that whoever had thrown it was hiding in the bushes. Not that she could see anyone, but there hadn't been a flurry of movement to accompany someone retreating. She wished she had her revolver. Then Roland wouldn't be an issue, nor would whoever was hiding up in the bushes.

Roland was talking, angry and annoyed, but Alice didn't pay him much attention. Instead, her eyes didn't leave the location she thought was the rocks origin. She nodded toward the spot she thought was the right one. "Up there." She glanced at Roland and Dutchy, pausing on the latter as he started to panic. She felt a quick pang of sympathy for the guy, but just as quickly ignored it. It conjured to mind unfortunate comparisons between the two groups, of Alice and Roland, Bounce and Dutchy, But Bounce was uninjured, nor was she any type of weak link. Any other musing would have to wait, of course. Someone was still out there, watching them. She looked back to the bushes, her eyes straining for the slightest movement.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?

With the rock thrown, Ash waited patiently in the bushes. If she made another move, everything would be ruined. Dutchy was going to cave in under the stress and his own weakness very soon. When he moved to the tree and started crying, she knew that the first part of her small plan was complete. She didn't feel relieved or triumphant, though. She only felt a hint of disappointment at herself for going through with it.

Now came the hardest part. Taking his supplies was going to require more finesse, if only because she wanted to use the least amount of energy possible. She needed to conserve her strength for the days to come, if she survived that long.

Survive.... I am harming Dutchy's chances by taking what he needs to live.

She was killing him indirectly with this plan. Was this really what she wanted to do? His blood would be on her hands.

I can't go back now. He will run from his partner no matter what. Better to take his belongings before somebody else claims them.

A bitter taste filled her mouth. This was not right. That kind of half-assed rationalization wasn't convincing her that she was doing something defensible. Even her mother wouldn't try to argue for her in this case.

No. I don't want to do this. But I have to. I.... I'm scared.

She clenched her teeth. Ash wanted to live so badly it scared her. Forgiveness was not possible for her now. She was willing to condemn Dutchy so that she could live just a little longer. That thought alone was something too terrible to be understood by her family.

No more. I just don't want any more. Leave me alone, damn it!

She clenched her teeth. Futile. Fighting to stay human was futile, for death would claim her soon. So, why not leave her sanity behind? Why not play the game with the others? Why not do what it took to survive like she should have from the beginning? It would be so much easier. She would have a shot at surviving if she was willing to go beyond the role of a common scavenger.

Because.... because I'm not the girl they see me as. I'm better than that. I'm not as cold as they think I am. I'm a human. Not a damned monster. And I won't give in just because I'm scared.

Was the truth, though? Was she really so strong that she could let herself die for the sake of a timid little fool? Ash already knew the answer. No, she didn't have the strength of character to be that saintly. She wouldn't be able to go through with it. Her fear was simply too great to be overcome.

She closed her eyes briefly. So, this was it. She would really do this. Ash didn't have what it took to simply walk away and stop herself from robbing Dutchy. No apology could make up for this crime. She would have to bear it for whatever time she had left.

If only I had considered this earlier.... this could have been avoided. Please, let something go wrong now. Stop me from doing this, God.

Ash had never prayed before. This was probably the first and last time she would do such a thing.

The rock hit the blond guy in the leg and he fell down like a house of cards. Both Allen and Andrea could only watch in silent shock as the realization of what just occurred sunk into both of their minds. 'Someone's just attacked that guy... holy crap, there's someone else around here!' Andrea thought in alarm. Obviously neither Allen nor Andrea had thrown the projectile at the guy, and it didn't look to originate from Bounce and the other girl either. So yeah, there was a fourth party lurking around. A dangerous unknown fourth party, one that Roland was now angrily shouting at.

"Don't look at us, we didn't do anything," Allen spoke up to defend himself and Andrea. The other girl traveling with Bounce then called out that she saw where the rock had originated from, looking up in a general direction towards a bush. Allen looked up towards where he thought the girl was glancing at, looking for any signs of movement in the vicinity.

Andrea did the same, staring at the bush. "She's right, it looked like the rock came from there," she whispered to Allen, trying to analyze the current situation and apply some logic to it. "Now, either they don't have a gun, or they're not playing, because if they did have a gun and were playing, we'd all be dead right about now."

A chill ran down Allen's spine at Andrea's mention of a possible close shave with death. "If that was meant to calm me down, it didn't," he whispered back, then looked up to the bush that was supposedly hiding someone. "Alright, uh, whoever's hiding, c-come on out," Allen called out loudly, attempting to maintain a firm and steady voice. It was no easy feat though, considering he had absolutely no clue who was hiding, or what their motives were.

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

Dutchy couldn't breathe. People were coming out of the woodwork, girls and boys, some armed, some not. His eyes darted around, his lip trembling. He hadn't expected this. So much time alone, with Roland, marching in silence. And now? Now they were everywhere. His mind was racing. Someone had hit him. One of them was trying to kill him, trying to harm him... Roland was yelling, the rock still in his hands. Things were disintegrating before his eyes and he knew the end result.

Kimmy, bleeding out on the beach. Roland, bleeding out on the beach. His heart beat faster. He couldn't handle this.

Get out. Get out!

He couldn't stop shaking. His uncertainty was at an all time high. Who had it been? He barely knew these people. Faces in a crowd, now suddenly reaching out to strangle him. Unreal, the worst nightmare he could ever imagine. His collar was tight around his neck, and he knew it would never be removed. It would all end in tears, end with Roland....

Get out!

He was practically screaming it to himself, but he didn't dare to move. His guts were churning, and a seething feeling of regret and self-loathing built up inside him. Selfish. So very selfish. Roland would look for him, if they managed to...

He won't. He won't, he shouldn't, and that would be good. Because this is going to- going to end- No! Stay strong Dutchy, stay-

There was a sound, movement behind him. His thoughts flew away, his survival instincts kicking in. Dutchy spun, jumping in the air, letting out a frightened scream. The girl leaped from the bushes, running towards him at a breakneck pace. His eyes bulged in horror, no doubt in his mind what was about to transpire. His feet began to move and he was off, sprinting, his pack and Roland left behind.

He was crying again, his tears flying along behind him. It didn't matter. All that mattered now was his feet, and how fast they could carry him away. Away from death, away from the island, away from Roland and two hundred dead school kids. Away from what he was becoming, toward his home, so far in the distance...

Where modesty's ill manners, 'tis but fit that impudence and malice pass for wit.

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((Skipping Clu in order to get Roland back in the game.))

Roland's eyes darted between Bounce and Allen, Andrea and Alice. They all denied having thrown the rock, and most of them suggested that the rock came in a different direction altogether. He turned around and looked, not seeing anyone, but there was a lot of brush a saboteur could hide behind, and now that they mentioned it, Roland was sure that he was in the way for both of the groups that he could see. If they they threw a rock at Dutchy, he would have seen them do it, or so he told himself.

"Alright, sorry," he said. His body relaxed a bit. "It's just... this fucking game and..." He felt more tears coming on, and stopped to hold them back. "I can't... can't even say her name."

"Bounce, you listening? Have you seen Sarah Xu and Bridget Connolly anywhere? We were together and we got separated. Just... I don't..." It was no use. All Roland could think about was her smiling, happy face. What did that fucker do to it?

Not half the things Roland would do in return, if he ever ran into him.

"We could use some more help," he continued. "We've got a plan. It's... Sarah can explain it better than I can." He couldn't even remember the plan. What a great contribution to the team he turned out to be.

"If you're... Dutchy?" Roland looked behind him. No Dutchy. Where the fuck did he think he was going? Please God, don't let him try and kill himself again.

He looked up and saw a flash of movement, saw Dutchy's shoes vanishing into the forest. Without taking even one look back at the allies he'd failed to gain, Roland grabbed his discarded harpoon and took off after him.

WickedIcon: i just launched a baby wearing a denim jacket and a bowler hat across a hospital, through a window, killing several patients, destroying thousands of dollars of equipment, and finally coming to rest on the body of a presumably dead clownWickedIcon: this is the best dollar i've spent in several years

chitoryu12I have yet to find gay sex that involves the men punching each other. I must not be on the internet enough

Dutchy was gone, and so was his partner. The supplies Ash was waiting for was finally within her grasp. All that was left was to take what she came here for and leave.

The feeling that she had done something unforgivable lingered in her mind. There was no way that Dutchy could survive on his own. Sure, chances were that he was going to be killed soon anyways. It still wasn't a good reason to shorten his remaining time, anyways.

She almost left the scene in disgust, but she chose to stay at the last moment. If she didn't take the pack, then she would have essentially damned the boy for nothing. Such a pointlessly cruel action would've made her feel even worse than she did now.

Fuck this 'game'. I don't want any part of it!

Ash covered her blank face with her hands. No tears, as she expected. What was wrong with her? Was she just deluding herself into thinking that she actually felt regret for screwing Dutchy over? No, that couldn't be. She was thinking clearly now. The guilt was real. It was there. She wasn't making believe.

That was a small relief. She was still human. But for how long? If this continued, she was going to crack. Once that happened, she didn't know what she would do.

Focus. Focus on the task at hand. Don't stray from your goal. You're going to get through this day somehow.

With a slow movement, she looked back up through the foliage. Ash would have to wait until they cleared out before she could go retrieve the bag. She didn't know if somebody was waiting with a gun in ambush, but it was a chance she would have to take.

I am a great biotic wind that will sweep all before me like a... a great wind! A great biotic wind!

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#287

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((Ditto here. ducking under inactivity.))

Maybe it was just her, but she didn’t think it was quite the time to relax and start talking. Maybe Roland knew something she didn’t. Maybe it was a good idea to share information when someone was clearly gunning, so to speak, for Dutchy. Maybe instill the mysterious stranger with a false sense of security? Offer a distraction before rushing forward in a grand and glorious blitzkrieg? Just, personally, she thought maybe they should at least go check out the brush. Something. Anything, really, beside this.

But to each his own. Roland could talk while his charge was pelted with rocks. Alice wouldn’t make the same mistake.

If Bounce wanted to discuss tactics or whatever it was Roland wanted to discuss, that was fine. Alice was going to keep an eye on the bushes. Whoever had thrown the rock was still around. She couldn’t understand why Roland wasn’t focusing more on that. Talking like nothing was wrong just seemed so, so stupid. She could understand not rushing up there. After all, maybe it was a trap or something, maybe a lure to get someone alone. But at least acknowledge it, you know?

Well, she guessed he did, eventually. Only after Dutchy took off, though. She guessed Roland might not have been the best sense for ordering priorities. But better later than never, right? As Roland belatedly took off after his friend, it struck Alice how suddenly exposed and alone they were. They were suddenly surrounded, with at least 2 on one side and God knows how many on the other, and no one even pretending to be friendly.

She didn’t want to look away from the brush, but she quickly glanced over her shoulder at the original group, all the while edging closer to Bounce. The first group, being Andrea and Allen, hadn’t suggested hostility, but she wasn’t going to gamble on that. And there was still the possibility that the unknown attacker had more then a rock. They were suddenly alone, and more importantly, still unarmed. It hadn’t become more of an issue then it had been before, but it seemed even more glaring now that Roland and Dutchy had run off.

“We should go.” Alice suggested, nodding in the rough direction of the sawmill. “Find Aaron, or at least get out of here.”

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?

While Allen was feeling pretty damn well anxious with the unknown threat hiding in the bushes, Andrea was quickly becoming frustrated with the way things were going. All the while she and her companion remained standing in just the one place, the terrorists were probably getting further and further ahead of them. That was no good at all, not if she wanted her plan to work at all. She needed all the clues she could get her hands on, and one such clue was getting further and further away with each passing minute. They needed to move, now.

"Okay, Allen, uh, I think it might be time we went our own way as well," she said, watching Dutchy leave with Roland chasing after him. "Nice seeing you, Bounce, but we're just gonna head off now," she called out to the other girl. "You're more than welcome to come along with us, if you wanna. I mean, I'm not a crazy rock-thrower, and neither is Allen to the best of my knowledge, so that's gotta be a plus, huh?"

Speaking of crazy rock-throwers, that person was still hiding and wasn't coming out anytime soon, or so it seemed. "So, uh, I guess we're out of here," Andrea announced. She picked up the duffel bag next to her feet and began to jog away at quite a pace, hoping to quickly make up lost ground and catch up with the helicopter's passengers.

Allen, only half-listening to Andrea as his attention was focused elsewhere, turned away from intently looking at both the bush and the two girls and saw in alarm that she was already quite a distance away from him. "H-Hey, wait u-aaghhh!"

Allen had completely forgotten about the tree stump he'd been sitting on earlier, as it was below his field of vision. So as he made an attempt to run after Andrea, he hit the stump with his foot and tripped over it. He put his arms out to cushion the blow and fell onto his shoulder, rolling onto his back. "Oww..." Allen whimpered, rubbing his shoulder, promptly getting back to his feet and starting to run after Andrea. He only covered about twenty feet when he realized that he left his bag laying there by the stump, so he had to backtrack, grab it and then resume the pursuit.

Ash glanced at the two girls still standing around in the forest. As much as she wanted to wait and let them leave before she tried to get Dutchy's bag, her hunger finally won out over her determination. The two were looking pretty beat up, and they didn't appear to be armed. As far as she was concerned, they wouldn't be able to stop her if she made an appearance.

With that decision made, Ash prepared herself for the small raid. She took a deep breath. This was it. She would have to do this properly. She started to rise out of the foliage when she realized something. The bag might not have enough supplies to last her for the next day. She had to think about the future here. With a hesitant glance at the girls, she sunk back down.

If she wanted more, she would have to take their bags as well. Although it wasn't something she liked to consider, she was too desperate to think of an alternate solution. She would do it, and feel bad later. She opened her own bag and took out her carbide lamp. It wasn't a good tool to be used as a weapon, but it could serve as a handy bludgeon if she needed it.

20 feet? 30 feet? The two were around that distance. They would spot her long before she even got close to them. With any luck, she would be able to get to them before they pulled out any guns or weapons. She took another deep breath, rose from the foliage, and burst forward. With her carbide lantern in her hands, she rushed at Bounce and Alice. They seemed to be aware of her, but it was too late now.

This was it. It was time for her to take what she needed. Maybe now, she would get enough to survive.

Hopefully, she wouldn't have to hurt them much before she could escape with their supplies.

I am a great biotic wind that will sweep all before me like a... a great wind! A great biotic wind!

Posts:

231

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Member

#287

Joined:

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Flagship Character:

Nathan Drake

((GM'ing approved by ET.Requiem.))

Remember that part, the one where she talked about how it would be a good idea to leave? It wasn't the craziest idea ever. No, she thought it made a fair measure of sense. Maybe even a good deal of sense, if you were feeling generous. After all, the logic was sound, right? Someone who clearly wasn't friendly was hiding just over yonder, and here they were, unarmed and defenseless. Well, maybe not defenseless, but definitely not in a position to fight off any real attack. Which brought her back to her first point. That is, not sticking around.

So, when Ash Morrison broke cover and charged toward them, she was almost relieved. Relieved, in that it wasn't some football linebacker. Not so relieved that she was about to let down her guard or take any chances. Considering that lantern in her hands, one mistake would be all it took.

At least this was hardly a surprise attack. The range between them gave Alice plenty of time to come up with something. Outside protecting Bounce, she didn't have anything special planned out. What she did have was strength and speed. Ash was attacking head-on with that lantern of hers, which limited what she could do. Alice could counter or respond accordingly. Not to say she wasn't worried. Like she said, one little slip and they could both be killed. Everything was riding on her protecting them.

Alice eased Bounce to the side before stepping forward, front and center. Despite her the spiked adrenaline and racing pulse, her voice was almost steady. "Let me take care of this. Just stand back and be careful."

Alice thought back to gymnastics. To be specific, to that moment before performing some maneuver. Just relax, go with the proverbial flow. Then, some roll or somersault. Now, some psycho with a lantern. Not too different, really. It's all a matter of circumstance. Ash was closer now, much closer, and she was making a bee-line straight for Alice.

In a not totally unexpected move, she swung with the lantern, raising it over her head and bringing it down towards Alice in a manner that most certainly not following the advised usage. Alice followed the arc and side-stepped it, moving to the right and leaving Ash stumbling forward as her momentum carried her. Alice helped her along by placing a foot in her path and a shoving hand on her back. After that, it was out of her hands, so to speak. Not the hand shoving her down the hill, the other hands. The...you know, other ones. The ones in the expression.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?

Ash let out a strangled cry as she fell. This was justice, wasn't it? This was what her fate was, ever since she decided to live by taking from others-

SNAP

What? She had lost all sensation below her neck. What she could feel was mind-numbing pain above it. She tumbled down the hill, gasping for breath the entire way down. Her lantern flew out of her hands and was lost to the bushes. It wouldn't work properly again, just like her body. When she finally stopped rolling, she knew she was going to die. Her fading vision was skewed at an unnatural angle. Her neck had been broken, hadn't it? Oh dear god, it had.

Damn it all. She couldn't be saved now. Death was coming for her now. The short, short time she had left would be filled with agony....

All just a mistake, a damned terrible mistake.

Ash couldn't even groan any longer. Something was dripping onto her blouse, but she couldn't tell what it was. Her eyes and ears were shutting down so quickly that she could barely sense anything at this point. She struggled to see through the darkness, but it was futile.

Why fight? I didn't deserve to go back, anyways.

She never did believe that she would die cleanly. A death as embarassing and stupid like this was the only thing she was entitled to, and now she had received it. This was how she would go out, and she would just have to accept that.

Go on without me. I wasn't good. You didn't need me. Don't cry, it was always supposed to end like this-

She would've sighed if she could. It was time to give up and die. Time for her to leave this 'game' in such a terrible and undignified way. She was just another student eliminated from the register now.

Ash took her regrets with her as her body and brain shut down completely, her face as empty as her mind was in the final seconds of her wasted life.

Bounce felt mute, helpless and paralysed all at once. Everything she tried to say turned to ash in her mouth. She wanted to give out some advice, some warning, even console Alice a little, try and break the news. But it just... all seemed pointless, hopeless. She felt lost.

The familiar faces came and went, the rock was thrown, caused a panic, a brief thought that was still actually on the dos and don'ts tutting and shaking its head. All the while, Bounce just stood there, taking deep breaths, trying not to just completely and utterly lose it.

She felt on the verge of tears.

Then suddenly, somebody was charging at them. Alice - injured Alice - took the responsibility directly out of Bounce's hands and after a moment of gratitude, she felt a crash of guilt. Had she really just done that? Let her hurt partner take the brunt of an attack from a girl wielding a... lantern? Wow, she was hard up, even more than Bounce, still carrying this DAMN gasoline. No! Stop thinking about the damn game and-

The girl went flying past as Alice pushed her, tumbling down and out of sight. Bounce stared at her companion, grabbed her by the hand, finally out of her reverie.

I am a great biotic wind that will sweep all before me like a... a great wind! A great biotic wind!

Posts:

231

Group:

Members

Member

#287

Joined:

December 3, 2008

Flagship Character:

Nathan Drake

Alice watched as the girl sailed past her, heard the girls surprised and frightened cry as she stumbled down the hill. Alice looked away at the last second, turning away quickly enough to avoid seeing the girl fall. But she heard that snap as clear as day. It conjured to mind images of a dry stick being broken in half, and that was enough to cause her to grimace. Bounce was pulling her along, sounding alarmed enough for both of them.

Alice let herself be pulled along and she tried not to think of Ash screaming and falling and dying. Because thinking about it would be the same as admitting that she killed her. But that's exactly what happened, wasn't it? She killed her. She was a killer, no better then Raidon or anyone else mentioned on the announcements. But it was self-defense. It was clearly self-defense. Ash had come at them with a weapon, and there was only the one thing she could have done. It made perfect sense. She was innocent, justified even. Then why did she feel so guilty?

She let Bounce drag her along blindly, breaking out of her stupor long enough to grab the bag Dutchy dropped as they hurried past. It occurred to her to question why they were running, but she really didn't mind beating a hasty retreat. As they fled, she cast one last glance over her shoulder at the hill Ash disappeared down, but she mercifully out of sight. Alice didn't know what they were running from, but she didn't want to stick around anyhow.

Now what? She got that they were running, but running where? What would they do next? Still look for Aaron? What if he didn't want them around now, because of her? What if Bounce didn't want her around? Once she settled down and started thinking straight, she'd realize Alice was more a liability than an asset. Not only was she injured, but she was a killer. Once the announcement hit, everyone would know it, too. They could target her, and Bounce would be in the line of fire.

Why did Ash have to ruin everything? Because she was too greedy/violent/whatever, everything was screwed up. Now Bounce would leave, and she'd be on her own once again. No Vic, No Bounce, just her. Alone again, worrying herself sick about those she cared about, but not being able to do anything to protect them. Her hand tightened around Bounce's.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass" -Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Faye Martin just wants to fit in.Jane Gordan would really appreciate it if you would kindly fuck off.Regan Flagg thinks that music is pretty cool, and would like to talk about it further especially if you have the same taste in music as she does, which is probably pretty likely, since she's not usually wrong about music. You know?